Paranormal Activity 2 dives right into the movie sort of how the original did without the introduction. After Paramount Pictures thanks the families of the deceased and the Carlsbad Police Department, you’re introduced to the new, yet familiar family that is bound to have some interesting activity in their home. This is an excellent sequel and I’m glad they pulled it off. When the original Paranormal Activity came out, they stumbled on a phenomena of a new way to scare audiences across the world. With this next installment (and I’m sure Paranormal Activity 3D is coming up next), they mix this new fear of anticipation with a bit of old school scare tactics to make everyone in the theater jump out their seats.
The movie has some elements from the first film so I won’t spoil the surprises. This synopsis all comes from the first five to ten minutes. The movie starts right away with a lot of scene cuts to move the film along and skip the boring parts. We begin with the family bringing home their newborn and introducing him to his new home. The family consists of a mother, father, the father’s teenage daughter from another marriage, the newborn baby boy, trustful dog, and their God-fearing religious Hispanic nanny. Quickly, a year passes and the baby can now crawl around and walk a bit…time flies when you’re not being terrified. However, that doesn’t last long. One day, the family returns to their home completely trashed but it seems like the robbers didn’t take anything…except for the wife’s necklace that belonged to her sister…
Now there's a dog and a baby...
Scared by not knowing what’s going on, the family installs security cameras all over the house covering every angle. This is the explanation for being able to see everything going on. What isn’t explained, however, is why the daughter and father like to record anything and everything…but hey, it’s a movie. Every now and then, the cameras switch from the security cameras to handheld cameras. So the wide shots are through security cameras that are always in the same positions and the closeups are through handheld cameras that move with the actors giving you the perspective as if you were in their shoes. But if I was in their shoes, I would’ve run out of that house from the first hunch that something was strange!
And then it begins. Just like the first film, each night is chronicled and you know something strange is going to happen. After each night, the tension is broken up by some day time scenes where the family slowly discovers something strange is afoot. Unlike the original, each night doesn’t just escalate more than the last so you’re in for more surprises and scares. Director Tod Williams seems to have mastered the art of anticipation. In some scenes, you can literally cut the tension with a knife. At the end of the movie, you can see that he knows exactly what he’s doing.
(audience reactions from the LA Screening)
No matter who you are, I can guarantee that you will jump out your seat. The movie will leave you frightened and not wanting to be at home alone. Just like the first one, you’ll leave the theater laughing but scared at the same time. It’s quite an eerie experience and definitely the first real scary movie of the season and may once again be the scariest movie of the year. Paranormal Activity 2 is a movie to watch with friends so get a group together and hold on tight to that popcorn.
Tags: Paranormal Activity, Paranormal Activity 2
Matthew Fong created advancescreenings.com and is the lead contributor. He watches every type of movie and will try almost anything twice. You can follow him on twitter here: @matthewfong
